Malaysian-born Tengku Irfan has appeared around the world as a conductor, pianist, and composer. Recently, he made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Juilliard Orchestra in April 2024. Last year, he was invited as a guest conductor with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and was the assistant conductor of NYO-USA, working alongside eminent conductor Sir Andrew Davis. Recipient of the Bayreuth Stipendium Award this year, he was also the runner-up and audience prize winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Conducting Competition. He also worked as assistant and cover conductor for David Robertson, JoAnn Falletta, Jörg Widmann, Simone Young, and Speranza Scappucci. He recently finished his Masters of Music in orchestral conducting with David Robertson. As part of the commencement, he was the inaugural recipient of the Robert Craft Igor Stravinsky Grant in Orchestral Conducting. He was a proud recipient of the Juilliard School Kovner Fellowship Award. Currently, he is the founder and music director of his own group, Ensemble Fantasque, promoting works from the 20th and 21st centuries, and underperformed pieces from earlier time periods.
Schedule
ENSEMBLE FANTASQUE (DECEMBER 13 2024)
Webern Concerto for Nine Instruments, Op. 24 Schoenberg/arr. Irfan Friede auf Erden (arrangement for ensemble)
Berg Chamber Concerto for Piano and Violin with 13 Wind Instruments
Cary Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, December 13 2024 7:30pm EST
Tengku Irfan, founder and conductor
Derek Wang, piano
Sophia Stoyanovich, violin
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC - COVER CONDUCTOR (FEBRUARY 11, 13, 15 and 18 2025)
February 11 - Lunar New Year Gala (Tianyi Lu, conductor)
February 13, 15, 18 - Canellakis Conducts Messiaen and La Mer (Karina Canellakis, conductor)